Suit-case.



B. .F. BECKER.

sun: CASE. APPLIGATIOH FILED JUNE 24, 1909.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

QSHEET 1.

2 SHEETS \IIIIII B. P. BECKER. SUIT CASE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24, 1909.

943,333. Patented Dec. 14, 1909..

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2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JIM/er??? BENJAMIN F. BECKER, OF GLENCOE, ILLINOIS.

SUIT-CASE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

Application filed June 24, 1909. Serial No. 504,030.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. Bnonnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Glencoe, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Suit-Cases, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to that type of receptacle packing case or valisewhich is commonly called a suit case; and the invention has for itsobject to provide a construction of suit case or the like which shalleconomize both labor and material without sacrificing strength orattractiveness of appearance.

More specifically one of the principal objects of the invention is toprovide a metal frame for the body of a suit case or like receptacle,having an overlapping cover,

which shall simplify the making of the bevel, that is, the off-set orreduced part of the body which is overlapped by the cover.

Another principal object of the invention is to provide a sheet metalframe for the body of such a character that the material forming thebody of the case,leather, paper, straw fabric or the like, may beeffectively attached thereto without stitching or riveting.

The invention has for further objects such other new and improvedconstructions and arrangements of the parts of a suit case or the likeas will be described herein and particularly set forth in the claimsappended hereto.

The invention in a preferred embodiment, and in a modification thereof,is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is aperspective view of a suit case, parts being broken away. Fig. 2 asection taken on line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of thearrows. Fig. 3 a similar view on line 33 of Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and 5, viewsin perspective illustrating one construction of respectively, the coverand body frames. Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of a cover frame ofvery similar construction to that of Fi 4 but made of one piece ofmetal. Fig. is a section on line 77 of Fig. 6, looking in the directionof the arrows. Fig.8 is a view in perspective of a construction of bodyframe made from a single piece of metal; and Fig. 9 is a sec tion online 99 of Fig. 8, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several figuresin the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 15 represents the body of the suit case whichmay be of leather, paper, straw or any other fabric, and 16 the cover.These parts may be of usual form, the cover being hinged to the body andoverlapping its upper or outer edge. The frame for the body ispreferably formed of a strip of sheet metal 17, the inner edge 18 ofwhich is bent outwardly at an angle so as to form an abutting rib orbead which bears against the inner surface of the body. If desirable,the metal may be folded over, as at 19, to give a smooth rounded edge.The outer edge 20 of the strip 17 is bent over so that it incloses andoverlaps the edge of the body. This frame may be constructed as shown inFig. 8 with the binding edge 20 standing some little distance out fromthe rest of the strip, and the edge may afterward be bent down upon thebody sufiiciently to engage the same. In Fig. 8

the frame is made of one piece of metal, one I end of which is providedwith a tab 21 secured by the rivet 22 to the other end. It is obviousthat the frame could be made in two, three or four pieces if desired,the pieces being joined together at the corners. In Fig. 5 the joint atthe corner between the strips or frame members 23 and 24 is made by theangle plate 25. In this construction the edge 26 is turned over insteadof under. That is a matter of no moment.

The cover frame consists of the strip of sheet metal 27, the outer orlower edge of which 28 is bent around and down upon the edge of thecover 16. The inner or upper edge 29 of the strip may be folded over toform a finished edge. If the suit case is provided with the usual lock30 and latches 31, 31, the rivets 32, which. secure the parts of thesedevices located on the cover, will extend through frame 27 and hold theframe to the cover. The cover frame may be made in one piece as shown inFig. 6, the ends of the strip being secured together at one of thecorners by the tab 21 and rivet 22 or the frame may be constructed intwo or more sections, joined together in this way, or by means of theangle plates 25 as shown in Fig. 4.

It will be seen from Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, that the main portion ofthe sides of the body are in substantially the same planes with the rimportions of the cover, the edge of the body being off-set as shown at33. This off-set, which is commonly called the bevel, is a feature ofthe suit case which in previous constructions has involved considerabletime, care and material in its manufacture. The bevel has been producedin various ways. My device is, so far as I am aware, far simpler thanany of them. Moreover, the body is secured to the frame without the useof stitching or rivets. The edge of the body is bent out of line overthe projecting rib or bead 1S, and consequently, a secure enoughengagement between the body and the frame is made by simply pressing theoverturned edge 20 of the frame down upon the edge of the body. Theframe in this way constitutes a binder for the edge of the body. The ribor bead 18 gives strength and rigidity to the frame, which are increasedby the relation between the frame and the body. It will be seen that itis not necessary to drill the frame. The rivets 34 which secure theparts of the lock and the latch to the body (see Figs. 2 and 3) comebelow or inwardly of the frame. This simplifies and cheapens themanufacture of the case.

It will be seen that the strips of metal forming the bevel frame of thebody of the case lie in planes substantially perpendicular to the planeof the edges of the body part so that the ends of the strips, or thebends where the frame is made of one piece of metal, are on linesperpendicular to the edges of the strip or strips. This rectangular formof frame simplifies the manufacture very considerably in comparison withthat type of bevel forming frame in which the bevel is formed by theinclination of the strips. In frames so constructed the strips have tobe cut at oblique angles at the ends and fitted together withconsiderable care or otherwise there are likely to be irregulari tieswhich spoil the shape of the frame. A frame which is out of true ispractically useless. The beveled portion of the edge of the receptacle,it will be seen, extends diagonally across the space between the mainportion of the strip and the rib 18. This gives opportunity for theoverlapping cover to adjust itself even though the parts do not lit withperfect accuracy. The edge of the cover is not compelled to fit downupon a definite meeting edge but can slide over the bevel of the body asfar as need be.

A suit case is, of course a rectangular box, and, therefore, while, Ihave described my invention as an improvement upon the construction ofsuit cases, it is obvious that, if desired, the devices of my inventionmight be employed in the manufacture of boxes or receptacles other thanthose intended to be used as suit cases.

I do not limit myself to the particular devices, constructions andarrangements shown,

as modifications might be devised which would come within the scope ofmy invention as defined by theclaims.

I claim:

1. In a receptacle the combination with a body part of 'fiexiblematerial, of a rigid frame to give a bevel to the edge of said bodypart, the sides of said frame being perpendicular to the plane of itsouter edge relative to the receptacle, means at said outer edge of saidframe for securing thereto the edge of the body part, and a projectionon the frame inwardly thereof, the edge of said body part extendingdiagonally across the space between the sides of the frame and theprojection so as to form the bevel.

, 2. In a receptacle the combination with a body part of flexiblematerial, of a sheet metal frame to give a bevel to the edge of saidbody part, said frame being perpendicular to the plane of the outer edgethereof relative to the receptacle, and the metal at the outer edge ofsaid frame being turned over so as to engage the edge of the body part;and a projection on said frame inwardly of the outer edge thereof, theedge of said body part extending diagonally across the space between thesides of the frame and the projection so as to form the bevel.

8. In a receptacle the combination with a body part of flexiblematerial, of a sheet metal frame to give a bevel to the edge of saidbody part, the sides of said frame being perpendicular to the plane ofthe outer edge thereof relative to the receptacle, and means at theouter edge of the frame for securing thereto the edge of the body part;the inner edge of said frame being bent outwardly so as to constitute arib, the edge of said body part extending diagonally across the spacebetween the sides of the frame and the projection so as to form thebevel.

4:. In a receptacle the combination with a body part of flexiblematerial, of a sheet metal frame to give a bevel to the edge of saidbody part, the sides of said frame being perpendicular to the plane ofthe outer edge thereof relative to the receptacle, the metal at theouter edge of said frame being turned over so as to engage the outeredge of said body part and the inner edge of said frame being bentoutwardly so as to constitute a projecting rib the edge of said bodypart extending diagonally across the space between the sides of thefram'e and the projection so as to form the bevel.

5. In a receptacle the combination with a body part of flexiblematerial, of a sheet metal frame to give a bevel to the edge of saidbody part, the sides of said frame being perpendicular to the plane ofthe outer edge thereof relative to the receptacle, the metal at theouter edge of said frame being turned over so as to engage the outeredge of said body part, and the inner edge of said frame being bentoutwardly and back upon itself so as to constitute a rib having a smoothedge, the edge of said body part extending diagonally across the spacebetween the sides of the frame and the projection so as to form thebevel.

6. In a receptacle the combination with a body part of flexiblematerial, of a sheet metal frame to give a bevel to the edge of saidbody part, the sides of said frame being perpendicular to the plane ofthe outer edge thereof relative to the receptacle, the metal at theouter edge of said frame being turned over so as to engage the outeredge of said body part and the inner edge of said frame being bentoutwardly so as to constitute a projecting rib which forms the corner ofthe bevel, the edge of said body part extending diagonally across thespace between the sides of said frame and said rib; and an overlappingcover for said receptacle.

7 In a receptacle, the combination with a body part of flexiblematerial, of a rigid rectangular frame to give a bevel to the edges ofsaid body part, comprising strips of metal Which lie in planessubstantially perpendicular to the plane of the edge of said body part,the outer edges of said strips being overlapped upon the edge of saidbody part and the inner edges of said strips being bent outwardly so asto constitute ribs which form the corners of said bevel, said stripsbeing formed atthe ends With tabs, and

means for securing the tabs to the adjoining strips.

BENJAMIN F. BECKER. Witnesses P. H. TRUMAN, E. L. BREIDERT.

